3025-A Trotters Pkwy
Alpharetta, GA 30004
(770) 569-2505
We at Elite Shutters of Georgia try to keep an open mind, but we feel that the plantation shutter industry was less confusing for consumers before the onset of faux wood materials introduced in the 1990's.
Many consumers have been sold on the idea that "plastic, poly, and pvc" materials were superior to real wood as they would never need painting, would never crack, chip, fade, and so on. Originally, there was only one type of faux wood material. Now there are so many that it is confusing to keep up with them and most are imported. There is the poly/PVC material, vinyl, and vinyl clad (wrapped over MDF material which disintegrates when wet and is very heavy). There are hollow, non-hollow, and aluminum core materials..goodness! At the end of the day, real-wood shutters, when made well with high quality wood grades and paints, are the classic and superior material of choice. The most popular woods used in the plantation shutter industry are from sustainable sources while, in reality, the faux-wood manufacturing process creates pollution and toxic wastes. While many consumers of faux-wood shutters have had a good experience, many consumers have found over the years that the extruded color of the material can in fact fade, discolor, scratch, and stain on certain occasions. Most faux-wood shutters now have to be painted with a finish coat to keep them from discoloration. The heavy material creates many limitations on design, installation, and specialty shapes and can actually "sag" in the window after time has passed.
Today most faux-wood products are sold by: franchises, companies who exist by undercutting everyone else to get work, those who try to make the most profit margin, and by those who were sold on carrying the product line by a sales rep for the manufacturer (again enticed by profit margins or franchise mandates and incentives).
Over the years, we have seen it all and experienced first hand the outcome of some of these products. There are a few applications we find appropriate for a faux wood shutter such as if there is a window to be shuttered inside the shower (yes, it happens!) or inside garages or attics. We put a custom color finish coat on our faux line.
One way to tell if a faux-wood shutter is an import is by the price. Because the synthetic material has to be created in a manufacturing process, formed, milled, cut, assembled and finished like a wood shutter, the cost is sometimes higher than wood. Most likely, the lower-cost faux products are not made in America. Many companies also import the components and assemble them in the USA. The foreign manufacturers also hide under different company names that sound American. Most consumers who buy these products have no idea they are from China or other sources outside the USA. PVC and other similar materials have also been found to emit toxins when heated (such as by the sun in your window). If you really want a faux-wood shutter, we can build it for you. If you really want it.
